May 25, 2010

After sleeping a lot I got up and watched the sun rise over the ocean as we made our way to the next port in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

We soon figured out that the best way to see the island would be on our own so we rented a car for much more than it should have cost. The guided tours cost much more per person than the car cost for the both of us.

We headed right for Volcanoes National Park. It just sounds cool but we also read about some of the hikes they have there.

The beginning of the hike was even better than the walk yesterday by the caves. We were really in the rainforest now and it not only looked great but it sounded like a rainforest. I could hear all kinds of birds and animals calling out as we walked through the thickly wooded trail.

At our first overlook we could see the smoke rising from the active volcano on the other side of the park.

The trail wound down to the floor of the crater where giant piles of porous lava rock was piled up with something of a trail formed by the crowds of people who have passed through here.

The massive lake of hardened lava was cracked and piled for over a mile across. There was still smoke rising from below some of it- a result of rainwater seeping into the cracks and evaporating in the extreme heat of the underground magma.

Some people who visited had spelled out where they were from with rocks, so we did the same. Now New Jersey is represented in Volcanoes NP. You're welcome.

We took the steep trail up and out of the crater back toward our car and the rainforest area that we started out in. If you look carefully, you can sometimes see the Wild Don lurking among the jungle plants.

We took another trail that was recommended to us over another giant lava field. The path was marked by cairns, which they call "ahu" here.

The amount of lava here was amazing. You could see the way it had flowed and then hardened. I'm not sure if the giant piles were natural or man-made but either way they are incredible. It's hard to believe this was all molten-hot, flowing lava at one point and now I'm walking across it.

On our way out of the park we stopped to get a closer look at the volcano we saw from afar earlier. The scene isn't that amazing but the fact that we're this close to an erupting volcano is. Look, I got a picture with the volcano!

One of the big exports of this island is macadamia nuts and Moana Lua is one of the most popular growers. We stopped by their factory/farm and took the self-guided factory tour.

Really, we just walked up to the windows and looked in on the goings on within the factory. We could see the nuts being sorted, salted, bagged and then sent out. We also got to try some sample which were pretty amazing and basically served as my lunch.

After spending some time at Starbucks finally watching the Lost finale, we went back to the boat and got in the long line to get back on. The line moved quickly so it wasn't so bad.

We decided to try out one of the non-buffet restaurants this time and went to the Skyline Restaurant, a New York themed place with very fancy waiters and more class than I know what to do with. The sage gnocchi in pumpkin sauce was superb, by the way.

I intended to not go to sleep really early tonight so I got my book and sat on the outside deck reading for an hour or so. The book, How We Decide, is really interesting and makes me want to keep reading about psychology.

After dark, we were passing around the south end of the island where the lava flows are visible. These are much better in person, but we could see the glowing lava flowing from the top of the volcano right into the ocean on the lower left. It steamed as it hit the cold water and began to harden. It was a pretty great sight to witness.

We got some food at the diner before retiring for the night. It was a pretty productive day since I didn't think we would be able to do much at all.

Our little boat traveled about 80 miles around the south end of the island heading toward our next stop on the other side.